Germany Business Confidence December 2016

Germany: Business confidence rises in December

December 19, 2016

German business confidence rose in December, with the business confidence index elaborated by the Ifo Institute reaching 111.0, up from 110.4 in November and beating market expectations of 110.7. December’s reading was the highest since February 2014.

According to the Institute, the rise mainly reflects the fact that companies became more optimistic regarding their current situation, with firms’ expectations for the next six months improving only marginally. The uptick was broad-based, with business sentiment improving in the manufacturing, construction, wholesaling and trade and industry sectors, while remaining constant in the retail sector.